Related Message
It has been said that, "Thoughts disentangle themselves through the lips and the fingertips." That's the spirit of this weekly post, to provide the kinds of questions—the conversation starters—that can help us delve more deeply into the ideas and implications of our Sunday conversations. Use these questions to stimulate your own personal reflections, or use them to start a conversation with your family, friends and especially your Life Group, to walk with each other into becoming more fully devoted followers of Jesus, individually and as a community. You've experienced the service, now it's time to Talk.
1. As you reflect on this past week, in what ways was your level of intentionality in being a spiritual influence affected by last Sunday's conversation, The Power Of Proximity?
- Were you more deliberate about positioning yourself to interact with people living life disconnected from God? Were you more aware of the opportunities that you had to be a spiritual influence in their lives?
- If so, in what ways? What changed about how you went about living your week?
- If not, why not? What kept you from being more intentional about connecting with people who are disconnected from God? How can this change in the coming weeks?
2. Read Matthew 9:9-11. In this story, Jesus goes further than simply being in proximity to people living life disconnected from God, he engages them in full friendship.
- Think about the people you would call friends. What are they like? Why have you chosen them to be your friends? What do you get out of their friendship?
- How many people of your actual, genuine friends are the kind of person that could be described the way that the religious leaders described Jesus' friends (the tax collectors and religiously disreputable people)? Why is that?
- What kind of relationships do you have with people who are living life disconnected from God? What words would you use to describe those relationships?
3. In the ancient world, to eat a meal together was to declare "acceptance, inclusion, friendship and love" Those are the words that would be used of Jesus' friendships with "notorious sinners". Read the following quote from Kenneth Bailey:
In the East today, as in the past, a nobleman may feed any number of lesser needy persons as a sign of his generosity, but he does not eat with them. However, when guest are ‘received’ the one receiving the guests eats with them. The meal is a special sign of acceptance. The host affirms this by showering his guests with a long series of compliments to which the guests must respond…it is very significant inasmuch as the guest is assumed in any Oriental banquet to be bringing honor to the house in which he is entertained…
- What is your reaction to the idea of genuinely befriending people who are far from God? What do you think and/or feel about the possibility?
- What are the challenges around genuinely becoming friends with people of different moral, religious, socio-economic, and ethnic back grounds from you?
- Read John 13:34-35. How does this passage clarify what those relationships could look like? What would love look like in these situations?
- Read Matthew 9:12-13. How does this passage clarify the rationale behind Jesus' friendships? How is this different than your rationale for choosing your friends?
4. Given this as our goal, what concerns or objections would you raise about genuinely befriending people living life disconnected from God? How would we respond to those concerns or objections?
- How do we make sure that nobody feels like they are our spiritual "project"? What can we do to avoid that feeling in the friendship?
- Read 1 Corinthians 3:6-8. How could the truth of this passage alleviate the pressure and/or guilt of trying to "save" our friends? How would the absence of that pressure and/or guilt change how we relate to our friends?
- How open do you feel are your friends who are living life disconnected from God to spiritual conversations? Why do you think this? What do you think makes people more open and receptive to spiritual conversations?
5. As a group, spend some time in Colossians 4-type prayer (Colossians 4:2-6).
- Pray that your intentionality about being within reach of those living life disconnected from God would result in some genuine friendships. Name the people you'd like God to help you deepen your friendship with.
- Pray for the wisdom and courage to love your friends in ways that demonstrate the love of Jesus.
- Pray for the spiritual strength, and group accountability, to protect yourself from being drawn into tempation by friendships with people living life disconnected from God.
- Pray, by name, for those in your life who don't know Jesus and ask God to give you real opportunities to share Christ with them.
For this week's spiritual exercises, check out READ.
For this week's spiritual exercises, check out REFLECT.
